spider house review + cilantro-jalapeño hummus

A few blocks north of campus, there’s a cute coffee shop called Spider House. I first discovered it during my freshman year of high school, and I’ve been going ever since. The decor is eclectic, there’s a bathtub fountain with a urinating cherub, and Christmas lights line the outside fences. During the daytime, it’s the perfect place to study, and there’s nothing better than drinking cups of coffee outside during the winter as a cold front rolls in.

Spider House is a lovely establishment staffed by the food industry’s rejects. The service is atrocious, the servers are either absent-minded (and usually absent) or constantly lingering. I’ve ordered cups of tea that sit at the window within my view for as much as 20 minutes before being delivered to the table (lukewarm). And trust me, I’m sympathetic, I’ve been a food industry employee before, and I know how much it sucks. But honestly, the service is just unreasonably, consistently terrible.

But if you can put up with that, go. The drinks are great (maybe a little pricey) and the food is pretty good too. And it is an excellent bike-friendly hang-out spot. However, like many restaurants, I’ve noticed that the delicious things I see on the menu could easily be recreated in my own kitchen for a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of the menu price. Case in point: cilantro-jalapeño hummus.

Put the cilantro, sliced jalapeño, and garlic in the food processor, and pulse for about ten seconds. Add the remaining ingredients and process until everything is smooth.

Previously I hadn’t really experimented with anything deviating from the standard garlic/roasted garlic/sundried tomato hummus. However, this recipe has encouraged me to experiment more with this dish. The cilantro makes the hummus taste so fresh, and the jalapeño is a great alternative to the bite of garlic. Has anyone else had any success with some non-traditional hummus creations?

By the way, today is my last day of being a teenager! Yup, tomorrow I turn 20 years old. How weird is that? I guess I should really start acting like an adult…

My family (I should rephrase: my parents) consume a lot of hummus, and while they make mostly everything else they eat, they always buy pre-made hummus. But I know they have tahini in the fridge and my dad LOVES jalapeno and cilantro so I think I’m going to convince him to try this. I can’t imagine that they are doing anything else at home without me 😀